Pokémon Champions breaks from tradition by skipping the usual Grass-Fire-Water starter choice and instead dropping 10 fully evolved Pokémon in front of you at the start. Pick one, and you lock in an entire team of 6 that shapes your first several hours. Here's how to choose the right one.
All starter options in Pokémon Champions
You unlock your first draw right after finishing the introductory battle mission. Below is the complete list of 10 starter Pokémon, their types, and the 5 additional team members each one brings.
What's the best starter in Pokémon Champions for new players?
Three options rise above the rest for players who want immediate strength without needing deep system knowledge. Here is the breakdown.
Starter selection screen
Gardevoir
Gardevoir is the most frequently recommended starter for good reason. Its Psychic / Fairy typing hits a wide range of weaknesses, and its starting moveset spans four different elemental types, meaning you can exploit almost any opponent immediately. High Speed ensures Gardevoir moves first in most matchups, keeping battles short and incoming damage low.
The team backing it up reinforces this fast-paced approach. Heracross, Corviknight, and Azumarill cover the physical and defensive gaps Gardevoir leaves open, resulting in a squad that feels complete from the first fight.
Gardevoir's four-type coverage
Tyranitar
Tyranitar takes longer to ramp up but becomes one of the strongest options once you understand its mechanics. Its Sand Stream ability triggers sandstorm automatically at battle start, chipping down opponents passively without spending a turn. Its move coverage includes Rock, Dark, Dragon, and Fire types, one of the broadest offensive spreads available at the start.
The team it unlocks, featuring Arcanine (with Intimidate), Sylveon, and Aggron, excels in Double Battles where board control matters more than raw speed. Competitive analysis consistently places the Tyranitar team at the top for doubles formats.
Charizard
Charizard sits between Gardevoir and Tyranitar in terms of skill requirement. Its Blaze ability and early access to Dragon-type coverage give it offensive tools that most early opponents struggle to handle. Speed is strong, and its Attack stat supports an aggressive tempo. The tradeoff is less room for error. Falling behind with this team is harder to recover from than with bulkier options.
For players who prefer applying pressure from turn one and can handle a slightly higher-risk playstyle, Charizard delivers.
What about the other starters?
Snorlax is the safest pick available. It moves slowly and does not hit hard early, but it absorbs damage and allows you to recover from mistakes that would end runs with faster, frailer Pokémon. If optimization is not your main concern, this is the easiest team to manage.
Pikachu is an outlier. The Pokémon itself is not among the individually stronger starters, but it comes with arguably the best supporting squad. Garchomp, Kingambit, Gyarados with Intimidate, and Azumarill with Huge Power form a physically dominant lineup that can steamroll Singles formats. If the team matters more to you than the lead Pokémon, Pikachu is a legitimate choice.
Lucario, Absol, Altaria, Armarouge, and Palafin all work. None are traps. Palafin in particular has a unique mechanic where switching it out and back in during a match activates its Hero Form, a high-reward strategy for tactical players who enjoy that kind of setup.
Best starters for competitive play
Singles battles
For 1v1 Singles formats, the Pikachu and Palafin teams are the standout picks in competitive analysis.
- Pikachu team: Physical offense built around Garchomp and Huge Power Azumarill. Gyarados provides Intimidate for defensive utility, and Kingambit acts as a late-game finisher.
- Palafin team: Special damage focus using Gengar and Hydreigon to bypass physical defense drops. Rewards players who can manage the Hero Form switch timing.
Doubles battles
Tyranitar is the clear top choice here. Sand Stream plus Arcanine's Intimidate means you apply two layers of passive pressure from turn one. Sylveon's AoE damage rounds out a team designed specifically to handle multiple targets at once.
Which starter should you actually pick?
For most players, Gardevoir is the answer. It performs well immediately, does not require format-specific knowledge to use effectively, and its team holds up across both casual and early competitive play. The four-type move coverage means you are never stuck in a bad matchup without options.
If you are going straight into competitive Singles, consider Pikachu for the team it unlocks. If Doubles is your format, Tyranitar is the correct call.
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